The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said it cannot proceed with the verification of signatures of constituents of Kogi Central senatorial zone for the recall of their senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, because the constitutional requirements for the purpose have not been met.
INEC in a statement on Tuesday by Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, admitted of receiving a petition from Kogi Central senatorial district, which was accompanied by six bags of documents “said to be signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas (wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.”
Olumekun who is also INEC’s National Commissioner, however, disclosed that “representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f)” of the commission’s Regulations and Guidelines.
The National Commissioner who said INEC met on Tuesday over the petition, noted that the address given was “Okene, Kogi State”, which, he said, “is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners.”
Olumekun stated that only the telephone number of the lead petitioner was provided as against the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners.
He reiterated the commission’s position that the recall of a legislator is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who sign a petition indicating loss of confidence in the legislator representing them.
He assured that once the petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in INEC’s regulations, the commission will commence the verification of the signatures in each “polling unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that signed the petition only.”
According to him, the petitioners and the member whose recall is sought will be at liberty to nominate agents to observe the verification, while interested observers and the media will also be accredited.
“At each polling unit, signatories to the petition shall be verified using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“Consequently, if the petitioners fully comply with the requirements of Clause 1(f) of the Regulations and Guidelines regarding the submission of their petition, the commission will announce the next steps in line with the extant laws, regulations and guidelines.
“In the absence of a definite contact address, the commission is making efforts to use other means to notify the representatives of the petitioners of the situation,” he disclosed.
Olumekun reassured the public that INEC would be guided by the legal framework for recall, and called on members of the public discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media.
“The process of recall is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, available on our website.
“All petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework,” he assured.
